The Biden Administration announces a plan to offer thousands of Venezuelans a legal path into the United States. Policy and politics factor into the Biden Administration’s announcement for a humanitarian parole program for Venezuelan migrants, we’ll hear more. Also, Texas parks close in on a tipping point with record numbers of visitors. So whats next? Our conversation with the person picked to take over as head of Texas Parks and Wildlife. And country singer Margo Price and her memoir on creative challenges, motherhood, and making it in a male dominated industry. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
History
How Texas Saved the Buffalo
The number of American bison has increased in recent years from a historic low of just a few hundred to half a million. Texas Standard commentator WF Strong says the Lone Star State – and one of its most famous ranchers – made a very significant contribution to those efforts. This story originally aired in 2015.
Wright Bacon: A Texas Original
A lot of people love bacon. Maybe no one more-so than comedian Jim Gaffigan. Texas Standard commentator WF Strong says Gaffigan’s bacon commitment might make him a good candidate for a honor this weekend in a Texas city you’ve likely never heard of.
Giant Cacti
This poem is about a plant — not a person. But in the wake of the sudden passing of an enormous political and historical figure, it’s easy to see parallels. A cactus was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem — but it’s lasting presence is similar to the seven decade reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
Remembering Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Texas
Queen Elizabeth II’s seven decade-long reign makes it challenging to whittle down to just a few big moments. She witnessed some of the world’s most pivotal events. But from a Texas perspective, there are two days in 1991 that stick out. Commentator W.F. Strong tells us about when the Queen toured the Lone Star State.
This commentary was first produced in 2020.
Texas Standard: September 06, 2022
A democrat running for a top statewide office gets a big endorsement from a prominent Republican. Could it shake up the midterms in Texas? Other stories we’re tracking: what’s happening with home prices in Texas? Why price trends are pointing toward a return to a buyers market…with some big caveats. Plus, a study that could lead to reclaiming toxic wastewater from oil and gas production. And Peniel Joseph, author and scholar, on the Third Reconstruction. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Falcon Lake
There’s been a lot of concern focused on Lake Mead in Nevada. It’s the largest reservoir in the United States and is the water source for more than 25 million people. But it’s fallen to just 25% capacity and is dropping rather rapidly. In Texas, Falcon Lake is at just 12% capacity. Commentator W.F. Strong says it’s beating Lake Mead in a race to the bottom.
Juneteenth: Are We Really Free?
Juneteenth is celebrated annually in commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States, marking the day enslaved people in Texas were finally freed — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. The national holiday is known by many names, Freedom Day, Liberation Day, Emancipation Day, and Jubilee Day.
In this hour-long audio documentary, KUT’s Miles Bloxson an Austin native, speaks to Black Austinites about the history of Juneteenth, how they celebrate the holiday, what Juneteenth means to them and explores the question, “Are We Really Free?”
Is there really a buried treasure in Walnut Creek Park?
Who doesn’t love a good treasure hunt? But is any of it real?
KUT’s Skye Seipp tries to find the X.
Texas Standard: May 6, 2022
Sandals, shorts, and fingers crossed as summer makes an early appearance, putting a big strain on the Texas power grid. As Texans prepare for a heat wave with temps climbing toward the triple digits, how vulnerable is the state’s power grid? Matt Largey of KUT Austin has been looking into that. Also, what if they held an election and no challengers came? With election day tomorrow, and some big decisions on the ballot, some Texas counties grappling with just such a prospect. And an effort to turn a spotlight on everyday volunteers who put their lives on the line for abortion access. Those stories, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and more today on the Texas Standard:
What happened to Toadsuck, Texas?
Texas has had perhaps more than its share of unusual names of cities and towns. Cut and Shoot – Dime Box – Bug Tussle. But perhaps the strangest was Toadsuck, Texas. You won’t find it on a map today because it eventually became Collinsville in western Grayson County. But for a relatively brief and shining historical period, Toadsuck was a real Texas town. Texas Standard commentator WF Strong has the story of how it got that strange name.
How The Railroad Help Built Texas
Early Texas towns took hold alongside protected bays – think Galveston and Corpus Christi. Others developed along the banks of fine rivers, such as San Antonio, Goliad and El Paso. But later it was the steel tributaries called railroads that were planting the seeds that raised towns alongside them. Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong says railroads, more than any other technology, ushered Texas into the industrial age and commercial wealth.
Texas Standard: February 11, 2022
The Texas attorney general files a legal challenge against the Biden administration’s plans for a minimum wage hike. Also, why are witnesses being instructed not to talk about race as they come before a Dallas grand jury to testify about police actions in the George Floyd protests? Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
A Little Test Of Texas’ Official Symbols
Likely you haven’t had a test of Texas’ official symbols since about 5th grade. You probably still know the major ones – but do you remember the state small mammal?
How Ranchers Used Barbed Wire To Make Phone Calls
These days, if you’re out working on a ranch and you need some backup, you just pick up your cell phone. If you’re in a remote area of Texas with bad service — you might also have a walkie talkie handy. But not so long ago, the options were a little less sophisticated. Still, you might be surprised that there were phones around. Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong has the story.
The Most Generous Texan Of Yore?
Most Texans probably know the Brackenridge name. But, depending on where you’re from, you might have a different landmark (and namesake) in mind. In Austin, there was the area’s first public hospital. In Edna, there’s a more than one thousand acre Brackenridge Recreation Complex. But as Commentator WF Strong notes, the Brackenridge who lent his name to a park in San Antonio, George Washington Brackenridge, may have given more to Texas — in financial terms — than anyone else.
Trailer: Black Austin Matters
Black Austin Matters is a podcast that highlights the Black community and Black culture in Central Texas. Each month, hosts Richard J. Reddick and Lisa B. Thompson talk with other Black Austinites about their perspectives on what’s happening in their city. We’ll hear from the well-known and the not-so-well-known in Austin’s Black community to find out what matters to them. New episodes each first Wednesday of the month.
Homecoming Mums
From the Red River to the Rio Grande — it’s a Texas high school tradition that’s… *grown over the years. This Typewriter Rodeo poem came by request from Texas Standard listener Linda Newman. She observed homecoming mums used to be real and about the size of a grapefruit. Now, she says they’re artificial and bigger than a football!
The Young Lieutenant Who Crossed the Wild Horse Desert
American history sometimes snuggles up close with what might be better termed American mythology. Take that story about a young George Washington chopping down a cherry tree.
But other bits of history based quite a bit more in fact are less well known — though just as extraordinary.
Texas Standard commentator WF Strong offers up one such story.
Texas Standard: September 13, 2021
Making good on a threat: Texas is suing over school mask mandates. We’ll take a look at what we know about a lawsuit against six Texas school districts. Also tropical storm Nicholas is headed towards the Texas Gulf Coast. We’ll discuss what the state and coastal cities are doing now and the implications as oil production is still offline from Hurricane Ida in Louisiana. And twenty years ago today… a disaster along the South Texas Coast. Remembering the Queen Isabella Causeway Collapse. Plus the Republican Party and Texas are practically synonymous in current politics but things have changed over the decades. A look back today on the Texas Standard: